The present invention relates to a manually actuated adjusting device for control valves of a hydraulic lift mechanism of a vehicle, especially of a fork lift stacker which includes a shifting lever with an armrest supporting the lower arm.
A transmission shifting device for motor vehicles is disclosed in the DE-AS 11 08 085 which includes a shifting lever connected with a tubular member carrying an armrest that is secured at a pivot lever and acts on the vehicle transmission by way of a linkage. The armrest is provided with a flat support surface and extends over a part of the tubular member and thus supports the lower arm of the actuating person only partially, whereby no rest, respectively, support for the hand, respectively, the hand joint is provided between the shifting lever handle and the end of the armrest. A secured support of the lower arm is not assured, especially in case of shocks or vibrations.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a manually actuated adjusting device which enables a fatigue-free actuation of a shifting lever safe in every driving and standing situation of the stacker. The shifting lever is also to have such an adjusting mechanism which assures a stable support with respect to the vehicle body as also a movement possibility of the shifting lever in the longitudinal and transverse directions.
The underlying problems are solved according to the present invention in that the armrest is connected with an adjusting mechanism disposed at the bottom side thereof and consisting of a guide joint and of support elements and includes a formed-out support surface extending on the top of the armrest over the entire length of the lower arm which terminates at the end in an approximately upright shifting lever that is formed-in into the armrest and includes within the area of its transition to the support surface a trough-shaped recess formed out of the plane of the support surface.
The advantages principally attained with the present invention reside in that a recess uninterruptedly supporting the lower arm of the operating person and far-reachingly matched to the shape of the lower arm is provided in the armrest by the one-piece molded part formed by the armrest and the shifting lever and an optimum support from the elbow joint to the hand is achieved thereby. This offers the advantage that the lower arm can be supported during the operation of the shifting lever in such a manner that during the working phase, no essential movement takes place in the hand joint and therewith no additional stressing occurs which would cause a disadvantageous fatiguing. For the continuous support of the lower arm in the hand joint area, a trough-shaped rounded-off area for the hand is additionally provided in the support surface of the armrest within the area of the hand, especially in the transition to the shifting lever so that the hand can be well supported and has a rigid abutment on the armrest. Also a support surface for the hand is provided in front of the shifting lever.
Thus, the entire lower arm is securely held fast on the arm-rest in every position, especially during shocks and vibrations. Additionally, the armrest further includes outwardly disposed drawn-up edges which delimit the recess in the armrest. For matching the armrest to the size of the operating person, the adjusting mechanism is additionally connected with a height-adjusting device so that an optimal adaptation to every operating person of the stacker is realizable.
An adjusting mechanism with a guide joint and support elements is provided below the armrest part of the shifting lever. They are so arranged that they are covered by the armrest part, respectively, surrounded by a bellows.
Actuating keys, respectively switches, are provided in the handle surface of the shifting lever which, for the simple actuation, are coordinated to the corresponding fingers of the hand of the actuating person.